While the Maou is Away
by BelleDayNight
Summary: What really happens at Blood Pledge Castle when the Maou is Away? The story of Gwendal and Anissina. And three maids, guinea pig Gunter, a match making mother, and a charming little girl
1. Part I

**While the Maou is Away **

**What really happens at Blood Pledge Castle when the Maou is Away? The story of Gwendal and Anissina.**

The repetitive clicks of a pair of knitting needles were the only sound disturbing the silence in the large chamber room. Anissina looked up from the plans she was drawing out on the other side of the room and glared at her childhood friend.

"Gwendal?" She called out sweetly as she paused in her newest invention's designs. A pair of cerulean blue eyes peaked out of the dark hair that fell across Gwendal's forehead. He didn't pause in his needle work much to the annoyance of his friend. "What are you doing?"

He looked down at his latest project and then glanced back towards her as if she just asked what color the sky was. "I'm making a dolphin for his majesty's daughter."

Anissina left her plans unfinished and made the short journey across the chamber room. She leaned over his desk, noting the piles of correspondence he had answered in the Maou's stead. "It looks more like a disfigured fish."

The ugly frown marks marred the spot between his eyebrows at the perceived insult. "It is a dolphin," he answered defensively.

Sighing, Anissina sat on the edge of the desk and took the needle work from his hands and began to work on the 'dolphin' to correct where his large fingers fumbled. "What will people say when they learn I am the one that taught you to knit such poor work?"

Gwendal crossed his arms firmly over his chest in annoyance as he watched with appreciation the way Anissina's long, slender fingers worked flawlessly. "It is unnecessary for you to be here."

Anissina met his irritated blue eyes with her electric blue ones while she didn't pause for a moment in her skillful work. "No, it is unnecessary for you to be at Blood Pledge Castle. Everything was going wonderfully while I was running the place in your absence."

"You have those creepy machines everywhere, and they only work half of the time anyway!" He shouted as he yanked his dolphin out of her hands. He leaned back far in his chair to avoid whatever abuse she might show him with her suddenly empty fists.

He was surprised, however, by the total blank look she gave him. It was odd to see her passionate eyes suddenly empty of all emotion. "Anissina, I didn't mean it like that," he told her softly.

The red haired noble woman stood up slowly and took a deep breath. "I guess I could thank you for being honest," she told him softly. It would have been different if he had teased her about her inventions. But she knew that the way he said it, he meant it. Gwendal, the man she trusted most for his opinions, had just insulted and belittled of what she was so proud. "Your knitting is good, I was only teasing," she told him quietly.

She turned away from him to gather up her drawings for her inventions. If they wouldn't even work or were just creepy perhaps she shouldn't even bother completing them and wasting everyone's time. She was a firm believer that scientific advancement was built upon the trials of failed experiments. Perhaps, she was wrong and they simply meant more failures.

"Anissina, wait." Gwendal stood up behind his desk and set the knitting down on the table top. He couldn't let her walk out with such a sad expression. It pained him to see his dearest friend so upset by his careless words.

"You don't have to apologize for saying the truth," Anissina paused at the door with her hand on the knob and her other hand holding the rolled up design plans. She turned to look at him over her shoulder with a sad smile.

"Where are you going?" He asked; stepping towards her but stopping just out of arm's reach.

"I'll go to the gym and try to do something useful like working out," she answered turning her back to him and leaving him alone in the chamber room with his knitting, answered correspondence, and guilty conscience.

Hidden in the shadows of the hallway, stood three palace maids making rapid notes in their journal of gossip. Never before had Gwendal and Anissina argued! And on top of that the idea of Anissina practicing her fighting skills was unheard of! The red haired noble woman never revealed her strength! Well, except for her battle against the zombie Gunter.

"Do you think that perhaps Lady von Khrennikov is in love with Sir von Walde?" The short haired maid asked her two companions in a stage whisper.

The tallest of the maids shrugged as she watched the retreating figure of the red haired woman down the hall. "Maybe, she's lucky Sir von Walde isn't in love with the Maou like his brothers."

The other two maids nodded vigorously at the comment. "What if he's secretly in love with Gunter von Kleist?" The shortest of the maids asked.

The other two shook their heads at the idea. "Gunter is too obsessed with his majesty. His Excellency would surely have his heart broken if that were the case. It would be better if he were to love Lady von Khrennikov."

"We should help them get together!" The short haired maid decided with enthusiasm as her two friends cheered their agreement. Before they could make any scheming plans the door to the chamber room was slammed open and Gwendal rushed out with brisk, purposeful steps towards the gym.

"He's going to chase after her! How romantic!" The tallest of the maids sighed.

**oooooOOOOOoooooOOOOOooooo**

Gwendal ignored the three maids standing outside of the chamber room. Perhaps, they didn't realize how loud their voices carried through the palace. He was standing just on the other side of the door and heard every word that passed through their gossiping lips.

There were two things he could do. He could ignore what they were saying, or he could find Anissina and they could laugh about it together. It was utterly ridiculous to think that she could be in love with him or that he could share such feelings with her!

He nodded absently to the palace guards that saluted him in the hallways. He shuddered as the three maids' words ran through his mind. The idea of him having feelings for Gunter was even more ridiculous than having them for Anissina.

The dark haired nobleman didn't knock on the door to the training gym and entered silently. He stood near the entrance for a long time watching his childhood friend practice, moving with such graceful fluidity. It had been decades since he had watched her train and he wasn't expecting the warmth of emotions that began to overwhelm him.

It was like watching a beautiful dance of raw power. He always knew that she was beautiful but something was different about how he was seeing her. Not since they were teenagers had she allowed anyone to watch, and she wasn't exactly allowing this showing.

It was as if that thought had alerted her to his presence. "Gwendal," Anissina spoke, pausing in her movements. She looked down at herself, noting her more revealing clothing. She was starting to regret having taken off her outer dressing to practice in the form fitting body suit she wore underneath. "What are you doing here?"

Gwendal took a deep breath and removed his long, green dress clothes until he stood wearing only his tan pants. "Would you like to spar?"

Anissina considered the offer. She was aware this was Gwendal's way of apologizing and she should accept the olive branch. "I wouldn't want to hurt you," she gave him a skeptical glance while secretly enjoying the broad expanse of his muscular chest. She enjoyed more the clenching of his jaw in aggravation for her insult. The slight twitching in that taunt muscle in his cheek made her heart lurch.

"I'm not concerned about a little pain," he answered calmly, struggling to keep his temper from flashing in his cerulean blue eyes. If anyone knew how to cause his temper to burn it was the woman standing in front of him so defiantly. It was hard to remember that a few minutes before she had looked at him with an expression of such sadness and hurt.

A charming smile was his answer as Anissina changed her stance to defense. She lifted her chin in invitation for him to come at her; something they once did as children. Gwendal stalked her like a predator stalks his prey and intercepted the kick she aimed at his chin.

He caught her ankle firmly in his hands and flipped her away so that she cart-wheeled out of his reach. "Not bad for an old man that spends his days pushing papers," Anissina provoked him seconds before she ducked under the fist aimed for her shoulder.

Neither of the nobles noticed the audience of three that had snuck into the training gymnasium and their rapid scribbling of notes on the progress of the fight. "I am only three years your senior," Gwendal told her calmly, enjoying the twitch in her eye.

"Are you calling me old!" Anissina cried as she rushed toward him in a rage, knocking him flat on his back with her on top. They skidded several feet, collapsing into laughter together.

Gwendal flipped their positions and held Anissina under his larger frame. He couldn't help but smile softly as she continued to laugh gleefully. This was his dear friend since childhood whom he loved to see happy. "Do you yield to my superior powers?"

Anissina stopped laughing. "Your powers are hardly superior." She narrowed her electric blue eyes. "First off, you can only manipulate the earth, while I am strong, brilliant, and a woman so therefore obviously superior…."she trailed off when his lips crushed down on hers.

The three maids simultaneously dropped their jaws at the unexpected event.

Gwendal kissed her until they were both breathless. He then lifted his face away from hers and grinned, ignoring the strange emotions he now was feeling. "I couldn't think of a more effective way to shut you up since I'm not getting any younger, as you have so kindly pointed out."

He stood up and then offered his hand to aid her to her feet. She was suddenly speechless as she raised her fingers to touch her now swollen lips and stare at him blankly. Words came back, but in a limited variety. "You kissed me."

Gwendal shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable to be so close to his best friend. He didn't like the way she was looking at him now, much less did he like the way he was starting to get light headed and his heart was beating faster. "So it seems. I must get back to important work now. The Maou should be returning soon."

Anissina watched as Gwendal left her alone in the gym, not counting the three eavesdropping palace maids in the census. He gathered his articles of clothing and scurried out like a cat found with his claws in the fish bowl. What was he thinking kissing her like that!

**A/N: This is the first part of three in this little series. I hope you enjoyed this opening and I promise the next two installments get funnier and funnier! Special thanks to CharmedReality for all those episodes of KKM and inspiring this little tale.**


	2. Part II

**While the Maou is Away: Part II**

Gunter stood on the balcony, gazing into the distance in the direction his Maou and companions had ventured off to the day before. The cool breeze lifted his long, silky white hair behind him in fluttering waves. He sighed heavily in personal grief for the absence of the one whom he had decided to devote himself towards.

He heard quiet footsteps approaching him and recognized the woman they belonged. He only knew one person who walked so silently and with such determination. A sense of dread began to creep up his spine. He turned and offered her an innocent smile. "Anissina, how kind of you to join me," he greeted.

Anissina narrowed her bright blue eyes at him, unsure if she detected a trace of sarcasm in his voice. "Are you still moping about Yuuri's absence?"

Gunter raised his hand to lay it across his heart, palm flat in a wounded fashion. "You must not speak of his name with such familiarity. He is the Maou, the leader of our people, the bringer of peace and harmony, his is---,"he was cut off.

"He is the sun and the moon and your world revolves around him et cetera," Anissina finished for him with an impatient wave of her hand before taking a firm grip of the white haired man's arm and dragging him inside the room and out of the elements. "I'm sure our great Maou will be even more impressed with you once he discovers you've been aiding me with my latest inventions!" She enthused with a mad twinkle in her eyes that sent another shiver of fear up Gunter's spine.

"Wouldn't Gwendal be a more appropriate guinea pig?" Gunter argued, Anissina sent him a look that made his blood freeze. "I mean assistant?"

The red haired woman ran her fingers through her hair impatiently. "No. The experiment I want you to help me on actually involves the revelation of what our dear von Walde's intentions are."

Gunter frowned but allowed the woman to lead him into her laboratory. It was often safer to not argue. He hated to admit that she could easily beat him up and he did desire to save some face. Besides, participating in her experiments were often more embarrassing than permanently scarring. And he did have a rather pretty face. "I don't understand how such an invention will please the Maou."

"It's too complex for you to understand," Anissina replied with a bright grin. No way would she admit that this experiment was for purely selfish reasons. She needed Gunter's help and the best way to solicit it was to make him think he was doing it for the man he was obsessed over. He didn't need to know about the training session and the ensuing confusion she was feeling about her best friend.

She pulled up a chair and ordered Gunter to sit in it. She then lifted a large helmet with odd wiring from the table and placed it over his head, connecting a long cord into an outlet that fed into a printer. Gunter eyed everything with a nervous lick of his lips. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Just sit there and concentrate on this bear," Anissina explained, handing him one of the knit animals Gwendal had recently completed. She needed something of his to make the connection. She flipped a few switches on the helmet causing Gunter to shift uncomfortably.

"Are you sure this is a bear? It looks more like a penguin," Gunter mused while examining the stuffed animal in his hands. He didn't want to think about the heavy contraption sitting on his head. "This isn't going to hurt my hair is it?"

He started to raise his hand to check his hair for damage before Anissina slapped it down. "Don't touch anything," she told him ignoring his question. She really didn't know if it was hurt his hair, and if it did she would simply invent something to correct the damage. Some sort of herbal shampoo would surely do the trick. "Now concentrate on the bear."

"Penguin," Gunter muttered.

"Bear," Anissina argued.

Gunter began to open his mouth to continue the debate when Anissina covered it with her palm. "No talking, just concentrate."

Gunter acquiesced, the sense of dread never leaving his spine.

Once more in his office, Gwendal began to massage his temples with his thumb and middle finger as a pounding headache began to develop. It felt as if something were being extracted from his brain, but that wasn't possible so he blamed it on the small font type of the documents he was reading over.

Anissina bit her lip in frustration as she read over the print outs. "You must not be concentrating hard enough. Think harder about that bear!" She demanded her reluctant assistant. Gunter tried to obey her command, ignoring the pain in the neck he was developing both literally and figuratively. The helmet weighed a ton!

"It is only revealing thoughts about government correspondence. Surely this is not all that is on his mind," Anissina muttered to herself, frowning and feeling defeated. She pulled the plug on the experiment and yanked the helmet off Gunter's head not caring that it pulled rather harshly on his white locks.

"Hey!" Gunter complained, massaging his scalp and giving her a venomous glare.

"Leave, your powers are obviously too weak and that's why my invention isn't working properly." Anissina shooed him out and began to examine her machine, wondering where exactly she went wrong.

Not being one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Gunter scrambled out the room as fast as his legs would carry him. He needed to make sure his hair was still in good shape. He couldn't risk looking less than perfect for when his Maou returned home.

**oooooOOOOOoooooOOOOOooooo**

Gwendal missed dinner that evening with the rest of the household. Whether it was intentional or not it was hard to determine. He felt that given the circumstances it would be best to avoid Anissina for a while. Mostly because he wasn't sure how to act around her now that he had kissed her. He didn't expect to feel attracted to her; she was his oldest and dearest friend.

He wasn't supposed to feel attracted to her!

And this headache of his simply was not going away. It came out of nowhere when he was thinking upon various governmental correspondences. It probably was related to all the stress he was putting himself under.

His brow furrowed as he considered this line of reasoning before he purposely tried to stop scowling. In the back of his mind he could hear his mother's voice echoing about how he'll mar his beautiful complexion with such an ugly wrinkle.

Within his hands he carried the dolphin he finished and was walking towards Greta's playroom. At least she was one female in the household that wouldn't cause him any undo stress.

He noticed the three busybody maids lurking in the hallway, pretending to dust and shot them an annoyed look. He struggled to hold in his desire to sigh at the lack of effect his glare sent them. Maybe he was losing his touch.

Perhaps he should go out on the next mission instead of staying around the castle. He always did tend to feel better after a good fight.

Greta's door was open and she looked up from the blocks she was playing with and smiled at him warmly. "Gwendal!" She exclaimed, rising to her feet and rushing to his side to hug his leg.

He gave her an awkward pat on the head before handing her the dolphin he made for her. "I made you this gift," he offered.

"What a cute fishie!" Greta cried with a toothy grin as she hugged it close to her chest.

Gwendal felt his eye twitching in irritation. "It's a dolphin," he corrected with as much patience as he could muster.

"Do you know where Anissina is? Normally she reads me my bedtime story and its almost past time now, do you think you could read to me instead?" Greta looked at him with pleading, childish eyes that no one with a heart could refuse. Unless he wanted to dwell on the fact that when he met her she tried to assassinate the Maou.

Gwendal did tend to hold grudges.

"I will read to you," he consented. He really wished she hadn't brought up Anissina. He was doing so well with pretending nothing had happened between them and not thinking about her at all.

Greta tugged on his long green sleeve happily and led him to the chair beside her bed as she crawled under the covers, hugging the dolphin close to her.

Gwendal began to reach for a book to read when Greta stopped him. "I want you to read this book," she told him, handing him a green and blue leather bound book. "It's about a princess and a warrior," she informed him, settling back against her pillow.

He cleared his throat and flipped to the opening page. "Once upon a time, there was a princess named Natilda," he started before he was interrupted by the child.

"No, her name is Anissina. Use the name Anissina," Greta smiled sweetly at him. Gwendal nodded and continued.

"Once upon a time there was a princess named Anissina. She was the most beautiful princess in all the land. She looked like a fairy with her…"

"Long red hair and bright blue eyes," Greta supplied, changing the words. Gwendal frowned. This story reading was harder than he thought.

"The book says she has blond hair and…"

"She has red hair and blue eyes," Greta interrupted with finality. "And she's very strong and smart too," she added with a nod of her head. She looked over at the confused dignitary. "You may continue now."

"One day, Anissina, met a warrior named Philip."

"Gwendal."

"Yes?"

"No, his name is Gwendal." Greta corrected with a trace of annoyance.

He did not like where this was heading. "Met a warrior named Gwendal. He was given the task of defending the land from a great threat. A powerful, evil wizard decided to destroy the land and take the beautiful Anissina as his own to be his wife."

Gwendal paused and looked at Greta expectantly. "Does the wizard have a name that I should be aware of?" He couldn't help the trace of annoyance that had slipped into his tone.

Greta waved the question away. "He's not important. I want to hear about how the warrior Gwendal saves his one true love, Lady Anissina."

"Don't you mean princess?"

"Whatever," Greta remarked with impatience.

Gwendal closed the book and turned towards the child. "Perhaps you should tell the story. I seem to be getting it all wrong."

"No, you're doing fine. Just be sure you get the names right," Greta gave him a winning smile. Gwendal never was good at refusing something cute so he consented and continued to read her edited version of the tale.

"And then Gwendal vowed his undying love for the princess Anissina and together they flew off into the sky on the winged horse that they had rescued from the evil wizard's clutches." He closed the book and lay it down on her shelf.

He straightened the covers on the little girl before rising and heading towards the door. The person standing in the frame was the last person he wanted to see at the moment. He wondered how much she had heard and felt an uncomfortable flush.

"Interesting rendition of the Princess and the Warrior," Anissina commented. She couldn't help the smug look at seeing her best friend blush. It helped her feel more confident that at least he was somewhat affected.

Gwendal shrugged. "She adapted it; I merely did as I was told."

"Never could deny the request of something cute," Anissina smiled softly at him. The look was so serene and cute that Gwendal felt his heart rise in his throat. "I just came to check on her, I'm afraid I wasn't able to make it in time to read her a bedtime story."

"I think I handled that pretty well," Gwendal told her as he walked out of the room and shut the door. He didn't want to look at her. Reading the fairy tale put too many notions of happily ever after into his head. Why did that little girl have to change the names of the characters?

"Something wrong?" Anissina asked, placing her hand upon his shoulder when he kept his back to her, and remained facing the closed bedroom door. She felt his muscles tense under her light touch.

Gwendal turned around and gave her a bland, aloof expression. "Of course nothing is wrong. I just have a terrible headache," he explained, lying through his teeth. The headache had disappeared at least an hour before.

He narrowed his eyes at Anissina when something akin to a guilty expression crossed her features. "You wouldn't happen to know why I might have a headache would you?" He asked suspiciously as he walked alongside her down the hallway.

Anissina smiled all too innocently. "Nope, I don't have a single clue why you might have a headache. I really must get back to my laboratory, good night!" She took off at lightning speed down the hallway. No doubt to destroy the evidence of her 'failed' experiment.

**oooooOOOOOoooooOOOOOooooo**

Yuuri and Murata sat side-by-side at campfire. Yuuri poked the flames with a long stick, stirring the ashes and cinders in the process. Konrad and Wolfram were arguing about the mission. Or rather, Wolfram was arguing and Konrad was calmly listening, not bending in his decisions.

"What do you suppose is going on back at the castle?" Yuuri asked his friend from both his incarnation as the original Maou and back home in the modern world.

Murata shrugged, stretching his long legs out before him. He hid the secret smile he felt as he could clearly see the small drama playing out back at Blood Pledge Castle. He only needed to make sure their return trip was delayed at least until the following evening. "Who knows?"

"We'll be back at the castle by tomorrow evening Wolfram and that's final," Konrad explained. He was all too aware of the boy's desire for adventure and the boredom he felt at the castle, especially when Yuuri went back to his home world. And now that their mission was complete, there really wasn't a reason for Yuuri and Murata to remain.

"Don't worry Wolfram," Murata interrupted before the blond pretty boy could argue more. "Yuuri won't be leaving until the end of the week," he promised.

Yuuri watched the exchange in silence. It was still odd to be the center of so much attention. And yet, he was oddly curious about what was taking place back at the castle. He had this odd feeling that something was happening and he was missing out on the commotion.


	3. Part III

**Part III**

Cecile von Spitzberg couldn't help but notice there was something strange going on under her roof. After having conducted an emergency meeting with the three nosy maids of the castle she had reached her decision. If Gwendal wasn't going to end up an old maid she'd have to take matters into her own hands!

Er…end up a hopeless bachelor rather.

She sighed as she thought back to his father. He was such an incredibly handsome man. It would be a real waste if all those good genes went to well- waste. Konrad and Wolfram were beautiful too, but one of them was bound to end up with the young Yuuri. He was just too cute!

If she wanted grandchildren Gwendal was her only hope! Assuming Gunter didn't have a secret obsession for him and beat Anissina to the punch. Cecile slammed her hand upon the tabletop, frightening the three maids. She smiled quickly, "Sorry about that," she apologized.

It was up to her to ensure that she had some adorable little red haired grandchildren. Or it would be fine if they had dark hair too, she did adore Gwendal's beautiful brown hair. Cecile tossed her own golden locks over her shoulder.

"Would you inform Anissina that I would like to meet with her in the library in two hours?" She asked the tallest of the maids, who readily agreed.

The former queen rubbed her hands together anxiously as she concocted her plan. All she had to do now was tell Gunter to inform Gwendal to meet her in the library and then she would lock the door on the two, trapping them from all escape. The other brilliant aspect of the plan would involve the actual reading material.

She called forth a few servants to issue her orders. With a maniacal laugh she sought out Gunter to finish with her diabolical plan.

**oooooOOOOOooooo**

The two opposing doors to the library opened punctually, two hours later. Anissina and Gwendal caught one another's eyes, noticed that Cecile was absent, and both turned to leave. Only the doors were shut and locked behind them. They were trapped in the library together.

"I was supposed to meet my mother," Gwendal announced, trying the handle of the door in frustration. Anissina moved to stand behind him and gave the knob an inquisitive glance. He turned back to face her. "You were to meet her too?" She nodded her head.

"It smells of a set-up to me," Anissina remarked. She walked towards the shelves of books and idly picked one up. Her eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets before she hastily replaced it on the shelf.

"What was it?" Gwendal asked, coming up beside her and trying to peer over her shoulder at the book she quickly put up.

"Nothing," Anissina answered, avoiding his eyes. She reached for another book and was even more appalled by the title. This time Gwendal too read the title and began to cough uncontrollably, a trickle of blood coming out of his nose as impure thoughts raced through his mind.

"I have a feeling the books have been replaced," Anissina declared, handing Gwendal a handkerchief she pulled out of the front of her dress.

Gwendal took the handkerchief to wipe his nose, before he realized where it came from. "Why do you have tissue in the front of your dress?"

Anissina began to sputter indignantly as she took the bloody kerchief from him and started to place it back in the front of her dress before throwing it to the ground in disgust. "Why are you thinking perverted thoughts?" She shot back.

"I asked first," Gwendal stepped towards her, a ghost of a smile crossing his lips. He was amused to discover Anissina flustered. Normally she was so calm and composed. "Can I look to see if you have any more?"

Blue eyes grew the size of saucers. "You pervert! You can't ask a lady something like that!" She hit him upside the head with her hand. Gwendal rubbed his bruised head, but didn't back away.

"Does that mean you don't want me to ask?" He inquired softly. "I can't help but think these things after reading the titles of these books."

Anissina backed away, leaning heavily against the bookcases. "These are hardly books. Its more like your mother's secret stash of porn and erotica." Gwendal placed his hands on either side of her face, caging her against the shelves with his body.

"It's obviously a ploy to get us together," he stated, resting his forehead against hers. She was nearly as tall as him and he enjoyed the fact that they were practically eye-to-eye.

"So it would seem," she agreed.

"You remember the first time we met?" He asked softly. She was so very cute when she was flustered and he found himself being drawn towards her.

She shook her head slightly. "I don't."

"Me neither," he whispered as he leaned down the fraction of an inch and kissed her slowly and deeply. He pulled back, both having eyes with far-away expressions to them. "I think mother may have known what she was doing."

Anissina grinned mischievously. "Did you want to go through the library for some creative ideas?"

Gwendal reached his arms around her waist and then lifted her against his chest, sliding one arm under her knees and the other holding her tight at the waist. He walked towards the large leather reading chair in the corner of the large room. "I think we can come up with our own."

"I don't know, you can't tell the difference between a bear and a penguin," Anissina teased.

She earned a scowl from Gwendal. "I can guarantee you won't care what it's called," he assured her as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

**oooooOOOOOooooo**

Outside the library doors stood a small crowd. Cecile, Gunter, Greta and her 'dolphin', and the three maids were trying to eaves drop. It had been at least three hours and not a sound had been heard after the exclaimed discovery of the literature in the library.

"I don't get it," Greta pouted. "Did they go to sleep or something? Maybe they climbed out a window."

The adult women all exchanged grins. Gunter looked just as confused as Greta. Cecile locked her fingers together and cracked her knuckles, looking smug. "I'm sure they are just getting to know one another," she assured the young girl.

"They've known each other from childhood, what else is there to know?" Gunter muttered as he anxiously checked his watch. "The Maou should be back any moment now!" He quickly rushed to the front door of the palace to personally welcome back his beloved king.

Yuuri blushed uncomfortably under the enthusiastic welcome and quickly pulled Konrad to shield him from the other man. Naturally this caused Wolfram to become angry and jealous. Murata seemed to be the only one composed.

"Where is Lady Khrennikov and Sir Walde?" Murata inquired just as a loud knocking began at the library door. Greta hurried to open the door, only to reveal Anissina and Gwendal, hair amiss and grinning like idiots.

They quickly bowed in unison towards the Maou before quickly taking off down the hall at a run, laughing all the way.

Everyone stared after them with their jaws hanging to the ground. "WHAT…Happened?" Yuuri demanded.

Cecile grinned broadly, clasping her hands above her heart in a prayer. "I'm getting grandbabies!" She announced.

"Anissina and Gwendal?" Konrad questioned, a thoughtful smile gracing his lips.

"You see Yuuri?" Wolfram probed. "My mother will get her blood grandchildren now, so we can be together. That's not a problem!"

Yuuri cleared his throat and turned to Murata. "Don't we have an English test to study for or something?"

"We've some great books in the Library you should check out!" Cecile called content that she now would have a daughter-in-law and then in nine months some grandchildren to spoil! And maybe Gwendal's atrocious knitting works would start to look like real animals.

As if hearing her thoughts, a loud voice could be heard drifting from the floor above. "It is too a kitty!"

**fin**


End file.
